The Power of Resilience…

Psychologists define resilience as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

First, let me be clear. Resilient is not something you do, it is something you are, or in my case, become much more aware of — who I needed to become to stop my steady slide into oblivion and perhaps, a very short life expectancy.

Science has proven that “broken heart syndrome” is very real.

You can die of a broken heart if you permit grief to overtake Grace,

Many people face setbacks with devastating tactics: self-medicating with alcohol or drugs.

Some become unhinged and angrily act out with wildly manic and depressive mood swings.

Left to natural impulses, we all have positive and negative coping mechanisms that we rely upon.

Some, like drinking and smoking, are habitual fall-backs designed to “just get us through…”

I truly understand. I feel that pain to some degree even today.

But, living in pain is not living. It is barely existing, a waste of precious breath.

“Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens. Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker,” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Which can be translated as “Out of life’s school of war—what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”

You have heard this quote your entire life.

It is one of those truisms that is, well, actually true!

Each time you face adversity, whether you win or lose, you build Resilience. The more resilient you become, the better able you are to deal with the next setback in life’s eternal quest for meaning and purpose.

To win, you must build Resilience through your losses.

I would love to tell you there is another way, but there isn’t.

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” — Oprah Winfrey

In my case, I found comfort in taking a little more action with a little less hesitation. I had just lost the most important person in my life. How did I expect to bounce back from that? By amplifying the forces that cause us to become more resilient.

No, recovery and resilience was not my objective. The survival of my spirit was. These may seem odd to you but they are what built my resilience in the face of certain devastation.

There are many strategies for becoming more resilient. There are many tactics you can employ — many covered in my book, Grieve With Grace™.

My advice is simple.

When you feel helpless and hopeless, do something. Take any positive action and those negatives will be vanquished.

When I started to drift downward, I remembered that I needed to pick up the Resilience stone and set it in place. Only by doing this could I build that bridge of Grace over the river of Grief.

God Bless,
Eric Richard Haas

Your 5 Building Blocks of Grace

Be thankful for the time you are given.

Find your balance & strength through peace.

Be the genuine, real you — all the time.

Create your future. Forgive the past.

Learn to listen, especially to your heart.

Cross your river of tears and Grieve With Grace™